Hyundai to Bring Ultra Small Car to India

Korean auto manufacturer Hyundai Motors plans to expand its presence in India. It was learned that the managing director of Hyundai Motors India Mr. H S Lheem met officials of the Industry department recently, to discuss their expansion plans.

He said that they were considering Gujarat as one among the many states for it future plans. Speaking to media persons in Vadodara, Mr Lheem said "We plan to bring out an ultra low cost car in Indian market, probably by 2011."

The Indian engineers in the company's R&D centre at Hyderabad are working closely with their Korean counterparts to develop a micro car. He said that car expected to be priced around 2.5 lakh. The car will be bigger than the Tata Nano, but smaller than Hyundai Santro. Mr. Lheem clarified that the ultra small car will not be pitched against the Nano.

He also said "we also plan to launch new variants in the mid and small size segment. There is a lot of demand for more variants. Punjab and southern states Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have voiced demand for LPG variant. Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad are asking for CNG variants. As the first step in that direction we will be launching the diesel variant of i20 in the latter part of this year.

Mr. Lheem said that Hyundai Motors was positive about the Indian automotive industry, which is currently facing a slowdown, like the rest of the world. The company, currently, holds 20 percent of the small car market share in India.

Source: http://www.carazoo.com/article/1405200901/Top-Seven-Features-that-Made-Tata-Nano-Worlds-Cheapest-Car?